When a licence is needed at all
QBCC sets it by value, with a list of work that needs a licence whatever it cost.
| Threshold | Work it applies to |
|---|---|
| Over $3,300 | Building work generally |
| Over $1,100 | Hydraulic services design |
| Any value | Drainage · plumbing and drainage · gas fitting · termite management – chemical · fire protection · completed residential building inspection · building design (low rise, medium rise and open) · site classification · mechanical services |
Materials count. QBCC: “The value of building work includes all labour and material costs, regardless of who supplies the materials.” Buying the tiles yourself does not push a $4,000 bathroom under the line.
Sources: QBCC, When you need a licence and Incidental work, both read 2 September 2026.
Class and type are two different words
The class is the work. The type is the role. QBCC: “You must hold a QBCC licence of the relevant class for the scope of works you intend to undertake or oversee”, and of the “type that befits your role and responsibilities in the industry.”
- Contractor — a business licence. This is the one that can contract directly with you.
- Nominee supervisor — the qualified person a company holds its licence through.
- Site supervisor — employed by a licensed contractor to supervise the work.
- Occupational — the person doing plumbing, drainage, gas fitting, fire protection or mechanical services work as an employee.
One person can hold several classes, and often needs to. QBCC again: “You may find you need more than one licence class to cover the scope of building work you intend to undertake.”
Source: QBCC, Which licence type you need, read 2 September 2026.
What the everyday reno classes cover
QBCC publishes a scope of work for every class. These are the ones behind an ordinary house job, in QBCC's wording, shortened only where a line does not touch housing.
| Class | QBCC's scope includes | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Carpentry | Timber and steel wall framing and roof structures; non-loadbearing internal partition walls; windows and doors including framing; ceiling and subfloor framing; timber and sheet flooring; exterior cladding, fascias and soffits; metal roofing; timber stairs; internal linings; formwork | Covers metal roofing and simple concreting. “Door” includes a fire door. |
| Painting and decorating | Apply paint or other substance for protective, decorative or technical purposes; texture coatings; wallpaper; surface preparation; cement render to no more than 8mm thickness | There is a second version of this class excluding cement render. The render limit is 8mm. |
| Wall and floor tiling | Cut and fix ceramic, glass, marble, slate, stone and terracotta tiles to fireplaces, floors, hearths, spas, swimming pools and walls; terrazzo; apply waterproofing for wall and floor tiling | The waterproofing line is scoped to the tiling. Ask which class a bathroom membrane is going in under. |
| Waterproofing | Apply, install and repair waterproofing, including surface preparation, and apply or install material or systems for preventing moisture penetration | The only one of the three whose waterproofing is not tied to another trade's work. |
| Roof tiling | Cut and fix concrete, clay, metal or similar tiles, shingles and shakes; battens; bedding, pointing and flashing; safety mesh, sarking, anti-ponding boards; skylights; refurbish and maintain roofs | Explicitly excludes painting roofs. A roof paint is a painting job. |
| Bricklaying and blocklaying | Brick or block construction; straight masonry steps and stairs; segmental or unit paving; glass blocks; battered masonry surfaces; prefabricated window or door frames; concreting to simple forms | Paving is inside this class, so is simple concreting. |
| Structural landscaping (trade) | Carports, decking, fences, gazebos, pergolas, “retaining walls of a height that do not require an engineering certification under a local law”, ornamental structures; prefabricated sheds with a floor area of not more than 10m²; surface and subsoil drainage for landscaping; paving or concrete not intended to carry vehicular traffic | Two hard limits: the shed is capped at 10m², and the paving must not be for vehicles. A driveway is not in this class. |
Every scope above is quoted from that class's own page under QBCC, All other trade licences, read 2 September 2026.
Plumbing, drainage and gas are three answers
These are the classes people most often assume are one licence. All three need a licence at any value.
| Class | QBCC's scope includes |
|---|---|
| Plumbing and drainage | Installing, commissioning, maintaining and testing plumbing and drainage services in all classes of buildings, including heating, steam, vacuum or ventilation systems, irrigation, metal fascias and gutters, on-site domestic waste water systems, roof and wall cladding, skylights, fire hydrants and fire hose reels |
| Drainage | Install, commission, maintain and test above and below ground waste water, stormwater and sanitary drainage systems, including on-site domestic waste water management systems |
| Gasfitting | Install, commission, maintain, test, alter, repair and service a gas system in any building. A separate class again — nothing in the two above carries it, and the gasfitter also needs a gas work licence or authorisation under the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 |
If your job is a blocked stormwater line, the word you are looking for on the quote is drainage. Plumbers and drainers also have their own public register, separate from the main licensee one.
Sources: QBCC, Plumbing and drainage licences and Gasfitting, read 2 September 2026.
Builder classes describe the building, not the trade
A builder's class is set by what the building is, not by which tools they own. Builder—low rise covers “building work on a class 1 or class 10 building” — a house, a shed, a carport, a fence — and building work on classes 2 to 9 with “a gross floor area not more than 2000m²”. Medium rise and open go further up. A low-rise builder still cannot personally perform work that needs an occupational licence unless they hold it.
Source: QBCC, Builder—low rise, read 2 September 2026.
The $3,300 incidental work rule
A licence holder may step outside their class for small finishing work. QBCC: “Incidental work is minor work you need to do to finish your job, where that work is covered under a licence class other than the one you hold. The total value of incidental work cannot be any more than $3,300 and may be included in your contract.”
Two conditions sit under that, and the second is the important one for a home owner:
- The work must be incidental to the job being done under the class they hold. It cannot be the job.
- Where an occupational, fire protection or mechanical services licence is required, it must still be “carried out by a licensee who holds a licence to carry out the work”. The $3,300 does not buy a carpenter the right to move a gas line.
Why QBCC's own tool may not answer your question
QBCC has built the job-to-class look-up a home owner wants. On its own page it says: “Use this tool to find out what licence you need for different types of building and construction work”, followed by “Please note: this tool is currently in development. Information for more works and licence types will be added on an ongoing basis.”
So it is worth trying, and it may not have your job in it yet. The class pages linked throughout this article are complete today, which is why the scopes above are quoted from them rather than from the tool.
Source: QBCC, Our lists and registers, read 2 September 2026.
How to check the class on a quote
- Find the licence number. It belongs on the quote and on the contract.
- Search the QBCC licensee register. QBCC's own words: “check the history of your builder before you sign the contract”. For a plumber or drainer, use the occupational plumber and drainer register instead.
- Read the class, not the trade name. The register lists classes. “Bathroom renovator” is not one.
- Open that class's page on qbcc.qld.gov.au and read its scope of work against your job.
- Ask about anything left over. Either it is under $3,300 and incidental, or somebody else on the job holds the class for it.
Where every number here came from
- Thresholds and the licensed-at-any-value list — QBCC, When you need a licence.
- Over 160 classes, and the licence types — QBCC, Available licences and Which licence type you need.
- $3,300 incidental work, and materials counting toward value — QBCC, Incidental work, quoting the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Regulation 2018.
- Every scope of work — that class's own page under QBCC, Available licences.
All read on 2 September 2026. QBCC changes classes and scopes from time to time; the regulator's page is the current answer, and this one is a plain-language reading of it.
General information for Queensland home owners, not legal advice. Yamate is software; it does not issue, assess or endorse any licence, and no regulator has reviewed this page. Licence classes, scopes and thresholds are set by the QBCC and can change — check the linked QBCC page for the current wording. Yamate sells software to tradespeople and lists Queensland licence holders in its directory.